ROUND 1 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 26 December 2018

The 9th season of the “Millet Ski Touring Courchevel” is under way!

A flying start for this 9th edition of the “Millet Ski Touring Courchevel” with a first participation record. 146 ski mountaineers turned up for this first round on Wednesday 26 December. This ski touring race will total 13 rounds this winter, with the grand fancy-dress final, set for Wednesday 20 March, as the highlight, enhanced by an exceptional concert by the band “Magic System”.

With 127 rounds held and more than 15,000 starts given in 8 editions, the Millet Ski Touring has become an institution in the world of ski mountaineering, the benchmark for Vertical Race events. Every year, specialists of the discipline come to compete against each other to try to win the season record, with the “Raymond et René Millet 2019” trophy and its €2,000 of prize money as the reward. For the less experienced and beginners, the motivations are different: finishing the course, setting a baseline time, improving over the weeks. This 2018-2019 edition will feature a major innovation. On the initiative of the ESF of Courchevel, the creation of the “La Trace” medals, specific to the discipline of ski mountaineering, will motivate all the competitors. As a reminder, the maximum times to achieve are as follows: 33min30s for Gold, 42min45s for Vermeil, 52min for Silver, 1h01min15s for Bronze and the “Finisher” medal for slower performances.

First reference times for Florent Perrier and Corinne Favre.

3.2 km and 500 m of elevation gain: these are the basics to be covered every Wednesday in a time trial by the competitors, with a start at Le Praz and a finish at Courchevel 1850. For this 1st round on Wednesday 26 December, 2 regulars of the “MSTC” are in the spotlight. Florent Perrier in 24min55s and Corinne Favre in 29min06s set the first reference times. Florian Sautel of the ESF Valmorel (25min11s) and Stéphanie Pommat (33min32s) take the second places. Sébastien Bedu (25min30s) and Héléna Lambert (36min54s) complete the podium.

In the ESF challenge, Pascale Gachet Mauroz , instructor at the ESF of Courchevel Village, sets the baseline time in 42min19s among the women, as does Florian Sautel (ESF Valmorel) among the instructors in 25min11s.

It is worth noting the presence of many holidaymakers at this Christmas period, but also a good number of locals who, over the years, have developed a taste for effort. Among them, with the silver medal, is Philippe Mugnier , mayor of Courchevel, who finished in 48min28s just behind Jean-Marc Sullice (48min17s). Already very sharp, Roland Claude Durand Terrasson , director of the radio station R’Courchevel (37min32s), Robert Petit-Jean , head of the ONF in the resort (38min26s) and Pascal De Thiersant , chairman of the management board of the S3V (39min18s) won the Vermeil medal. At 8 years old, Gaspard Figliolini won the silver medal with an exceptional time of 49min42s! Indeed, you have to be 14 to take part but, accompanied by a father who won the Pierra Menta in 1998, a special dispensation was granted by the Management.